


Slice of Humble Pie

by pennysparrow



Series: No Capes [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, American Football, Amusement Parks, Brotherly Affection, Candy, Cars, Don't copy to another site, Driving, Family Dynamics, Food, Gen, Good Parent Oliver Queen, Ice Cream, Laundry, Light Angst, Marching Band, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Puns & Word Play, References to Canon, Siblings, Skateboarding, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24376426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/pseuds/pennysparrow
Summary: It's been about two years now but Mia and Jason are still feuding. Which wouldn't be such a problem if the world weren't so small and their families so big because somehow their friend groups can't help but overlap. Now if only anyone actually knew what started this whole thing in the first place.
Relationships: Bart Allen & Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark, Mia Dearden & Connor Hawke, Mia Dearden & Courtney Whitmore, Mia Dearden & Roy Harper, Mia Dearden & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne
Series: No Capes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823815
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	1. First Movement: The Opener

**Author's Note:**

> I did marching band all through high school and being at home in my childhood bedroom left me thinking a lot about it lately so this is kind of a love letter to marching band and band kids.

“Ugh I hate having to go to Gotham,” Mia wasn’t whining, but she was getting pretty damn close.

Roy quirked an eyebrow at her from across the kitchen island. What he was doing here she couldn’t say, normally he and Lian only came to the home games. “What’s wrong with Gotham?” He finally asked when it became clear the look wasn’t enough to make further information forthcoming.

“Besides the obvious?” She teased, taking a vicious bite of a baby carrot. She’d eat at the game, but Mia was hungry from coming home from school and third quarter was going to be a long way off.

“Obviously besides the obvious,” Roy said with an eye roll and half aborted snort.

“Please don’t say it’s because of something stupid like a grass field rather than turf or the other way around,” Connor pleaded. He’d poked his head up over the back of the couch and his smile was the only indication that he was teasing her. Mia’s brothers were jerks.

“No. If you must know,” she was going for haughty and tried to look down her nose at the boys, “it’s the people.”

Connor scoffed, closing the book he’d been reading before hopping the couch and coming to join the discussion proper. Roy just looked confused. Which wasn’t exactly a novelty on him except this was the rare brand of confusion with a flare of hurt. Almost reluctantly Mia felt a pang of guilt as she catalogued his expression.

“They’re not that bad. We know people from Gotham and they’re nice,” Connor tried.

“Yeah, I thought you were friends with Tim. Dick said you two were friends,” Roy had crossed his arms and furrowed his brow from where he now leant back against the sink.

Mia sighed. “Well yeah, I am friends with Tim. And Dick seems nice.” Roy relaxed a tad. “And I’d really love the chance to hang out with Steph and Cass more.” Connor grinned at her. “But like in general they’re the worst and in specifics Jason sucks.”

That gained her a laugh from the older boys. It was fleeting but it was there so Mia took it as a win.

“Alright,” Roy said, still chuckling slightly. “He’s not terrible. Now, if you’d said that about Bruce I wouldn’t be inclined to argue, but Jason...”

Mia gave him a flat look. For being a grown ass adult with his own tiny human to care for Roy could sure be a dumbass sometimes. “He tried to kill me once.”

“I seem to remember you winning that fight,” Connor said dryly.

“Irrelevant.”

Roy wasn’t impressed. “I remember that gala vividly and it ended in you locking him in a supply closet with a confetti canon. He was practically coated when they found him.”

Mia went back to munching her carrots innocently. “Not my fault the thing was hooked up to the main control panel and fired as a part of the night’s entertainment.”

As her older brothers it was clear they were both trying to be good, responsible role models and hide their amusement at the ordeal, but they were also clearly failing in that. Besides, there’d been notes of pride in Roy’s voice.

“And,” Mia added, waving a carrot in the redhead’s general direction, “he was the one who started it.”

Connor leaned across the corner of the counter and snagged one of her carrots from their plate. Mia would like to say that she’d let him, but he was fast and they both knew Connor would and could pilfer whatever food he wanted from her. “How exactly did it start again?” he asked mildly.

Rolling her eyes, Mia huffed out a dramatic sigh. “He walked up to me and said ‘I heard you do color guard. Too bad you’re stuck at Star, cause Gotham Academy is division champs, outdoor and indoor.’ Then I decked him.”

Roy was cracking up and Connor was giving her that skeptical look where he raised just the one eyebrow and his mouth twisted up ever so slightly.

“That is not what happened. At all,” Roy managed to get out between laughs.

“Well it might as well be! Smug bastard. We’re not even _in_ the same division! Star is two whole classes bigger than them!” Mia fumed, deciding to ignore her brothers in favor of sulking before she had to round up Ollie to drive her back to the school.

“So, what really started it?” Connor tried again. Mia pointedly ignored him.

There was a quiet snort from Roy and then the sound of the fridge opening. Her filled and chilled Nalgene bottle was placed in front of her as he spoke. “Don’t really know. But there was an argument, then Jason pushed her, then there was a shoving match, then Mia punched him, and then they started really yelling and fighting in earnest and it ended with Jason locked in a supply closet and Mia here sporting a bloody lip.”

“Oh yeah, I do remember you coming home with that now,” Connor hummed.

She huffed. “Gotham sucks and I hate when we play them. Now, I don’t really feel like fighting with twelve other girls for the curling iron so I’m going to go do my hair and makeup here and now.”

Placing the now empty plate in the dishwasher, Mia slipped past the boys towards the stairs and her room.

~

“Since when do you go to athletic events, Drake?” Damian sneered. Tim glared back at his youngest brother. Cass was right, for an eleven-year-old his badness level was unusually high especially for someone his size and it manifested itself in mean comments and scowls, normally about Tim being incompetent.

“What are you talking about, you know I go to Steph’s gymnastic competitions all the time?” Tim tried to keep the bite out of his voice, he’s positive he failed.

“-tt- That hardly counts,” came the sniffed reply.

Tim paused in where he’d been packing a blanket to sit on into the tote bag Alfred had pulled out for him, closing his eyes and willing himself calm. Bruce hated when they snapped at each other, even if it was a commonality among roughly 70% of his children. Besides, Dick would hear and he was Tim’s ride to the stadium.

“I go to things when I have friends in them to support. My friend Mia is in Star’s marching band and since we’re playing them, I thought I’d go and watch her do her thing.”

“Why not just go to a competition, people actually watch the bands perform at those,” Damian looked smug. Tim didn’t get how a kid curled up in an antique armchair playing a Switch could look smug, but the blazer probably had something to do with it.

“Because we’re making a social event of it!” Dick cried as he swept in from the foyer. Tim silently thanked his older brother’s arrival and simultaneously wished he’d have gotten there sooner.

Damian gave a dry look. Tim just ignored him, pleased to push this squarely onto Dick now.

Undaunted, Dick charged ahead. “You remember my friend Roy? And his daughter Lian? They’re going to come and sit with us and we’re all going to cheer on Mia together! Why don’t you come with?”

“Harper’s daughter is six. I doubt we’ll have anything in common,” Damian said.

“There’ll be food?” Dick tried instead.

“Pre-processed and dripping in grease.”

Tim could see Dick beginning to get a smidge annoyed, his smile growing forced and shoulders tense. Honestly, why he even bothered was a mystery, the game was going to just suck if Damian came with anyway.

“You used to like going to Jason’s band competitions,” Dick sounded strained.

“Yes, when I was a child. Todd has been graduated for a year now and this is not a band competition as we’ve already discussed, it’s a football game. No, I won’t be attending.”

Some of Dick’s mirth returned as he smirked, and Tim knew that meant he’d let the subject of Damian coming with drop and just turned to teasing him. Which Tim was eternally grateful for. They were going to be sitting on the visitors side anyway to watch Mia, except when the band actually took the field cause even Tim knew they played to home, and he’d be getting enough crap for that from his friends as it was. He didn’t really need his most annoying family member there too.

“Oh, so you’re not a child then?” Dick was asking Damian, a laugh in his voice.

Tim didn’t hear the response though, heading to grab his jacket from the closet in the front hall. When he came back Dick was grinning and Damian was practically pouting.

“Uh, you ready?” he asked, grabbing the tote.

“Yeah,” Dick said. He pulled his keys from his pocket, ruffled Damian’s hair to threats of losing his arm, and headed towards the door. Tim fell in step next to him. “You really don’t go to football games anymore?” Dick asked as they made their way down the front steps of the manor, glancing sideways at Tim.

He just shrugged, walking around to the passenger side of Dick’s car. “Don’t really like football. And Jason did graduate, no point in going if you don’t like it and don’t have someone to go for.”

“I thought you had a friend on the football team?”

Tim smiled, raising a single brow at Dick. His older brother tried – and normally he did a great job – but he couldn’t always keep Tim’s friends straight.

Dick had his own massive and sprawling friend group, acquired over the years from a variety of places thanks to his natural charm and extroverted nature. Then there was Jason’s smaller but nonetheless tight knit group, plus all the band and theater kids which swelled the numbers to be nearly on level with Dick’s own. Cass’s friends normally overlapped with Tim’s and her closest had a habit of always being around the manor anyway which made things easy. So, by the time you got to Tim, well he thought Dick had earned some slack.

Besides, between his old friends from before Bruce adopted him and at Brentwood, his friends from online like Lonnie, the kids from debate like Duke and Riko, Steph and Harper who doubled as Cass’s, and the people he was weirdly close to despite the fact none of them went to school together then yeah, there was a lot of people to try and keep straight. Never mind the fact that a lot of the latter were the younger family members of Bruce or Dick’s friends like Tam or Mia, they were some of Tim’s closest friends and normally Dick had a pretty good hold on them. Just apparently not today.

Tim just laughed as the car made its way down the drive. “Conner plays football? But he definitely doesn’t go to Gotham Academy.”

“Oh, right,” Dick winced. “Sorry, I did know that.”

“It’s fine,” Tim shrugged. “We play them in a couple weeks and I’ll go then. Steph and Cass said they would too. And Bart’s going to be here for a track meet next week and Cassie’s got a volleyball game against us on Tuesday.”

“You really do go to a lot of athletic events,” Dick chuckled, glancing over out of the corner of his eye.

“Everything but Anita and Rose’s fencing matches cause they won’t let me. Going to the Olympics for Cissie the other year does kind of even it out though.” Tim smirked and Dick snorted.

“You introduce her and Mia yet?”

“Tried to, but Mia said archery is more a hobby than anything for her and you know how Cissie’s mom is...” Tim raised an eyebrow, he wasn’t actually sure if Dick did know how Bonnie was but it was worth a shot. They’d met a couple times if he remembered right.

“Yeah, she’s kind of a lot?”

Tim snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. But yeah, Mia got lost after about two minutes of Cissie talking shop and they both agreed to just drop it. Wound up teasing Bart mercilessly instead.”

“Of course, cause history is cyclical,” Dick chuckled before launching into a goofy story about Wally, Bart’s cousin and his best friend, that lasted until they got to the stadium.

~

“You know, your dad is kinda cool.”

Mia looked up from where she was untangling the straps of the equipment bags to see the one trumpet section leader standing behind her, obviously watching to make sure her section’s cases got lined up properly so they could be loaded back onto the truck and fiddling with the cap to some valve oil.

“Oh?” Mia said to the other girl mildly, turning back to the equipment bags.

“Yeah, my dad never would’ve volunteered to be a chaperone last minute like that.”

Mia smiled to herself. When Ollie had dropped her off and heard the one chap had called in sick, he’d practically thrown his literal hat into the ring as a backup. She’d had to remind him that he was supposed to be going on a date with Dinah tonight and that if he missed it he’d be dead. Even if they both knew Dinah counted being a good parent as a valid excuse to miss. Luckily, one of the uniform moms had agreed and he’d gone on his date and left Mia to deal with significantly less of her family. Because apparently Roy and Lian were meeting up with Dick and Tim at the game and no one told her until she was walking out the door.

She’d managed to untangle the straps and slung one half of the pile onto her shoulder while her co-captain grabbed the other. “Yeah, Ollie tries really hard.”

“It’s sweet,” the trumpet player said, satisfied with her section and walking with Mia towards where the rest of the band was getting into block.

“Yeah. Can be annoying sometimes and trying doesn’t always equate to succeeding...” Mia trailed off with a laugh. She shrugged, hitching the bags higher onto her shoulder. “But yeah, he’s pretty great.”

The other girl flashed her one last smile before getting into block while Mia continued her way towards the front of the band. She took her place at the very front and slid easily into parade rest, zoning out slightly but keeping her ears pricked for the inevitable “Band atten-hut!” to be called over the murmur of the gathering crowd. They’d be doing halftime and Mia was glad, mostly because it meant she could just dump the bags and head into the stands to worry about sorting later. The rest of her was glad because it meant a larger audience, even if most didn’t actually pay attention to them.

The drum major gave the command and Mia snapped to attention. Today she managed to do so both without any of the equipment bags slipping and without whacking herself in the back of the head with the poles. Mark time came and she internalized the clicks of the snare rim as her heels lifted in time. The drum major called for them to move and Mia was stepping off as the cadence begun. The guard instructor and head chaperone walked a few paces in front of them, shooing people out of the way lest they get run over by the band. And the band would run them over.

The crowd bottlenecked before and after the gate but managed to clear as the band made their way towards it. Just inside and off to her right stood a group of people Mia could hear whooping and shouting things like “GO BAND!” As she got closer she could tell it was her dorky brother and his best friend, holding her niece. Tim, Cass, and Steph stood next to them but a few steps away, almost like they wanted to not be associated with Roy and Dick’s particular brand of shenanigans. As soon as Mia spotted Roy, he saw her and started up a chant of “MIA! MIA! MIA!” That Dick and Lian immediately took up and the others quickly joined too.

“Looks like you’ve got a fan club,” her guard instructor called back to her with a smile. Mia couldn’t talk but she did roll her eyes, getting laughs as she passed.

~

Steph turned to Tim once the band passed and the crowd surged back into motion. “Welp, have fun sitting with the enemy. We’ll save you guys spots for halftime.”

“Thanks Steph,” Dick said with a smile.

She gave a thumbs up and Cass gave a cheery wave before they both disappeared into the crowd.

“We’re going to go sit by the band. Mia is normally at the top of the stands, Lian likes to do the dances with her, don’t cha Squeaker?” Roy addressed the last bit to his daughter.

The little girl nodded enthusiastically and swung Dick’s hand where she held it.

“Lead the way,” Tim gestured in front of himself and followed after the redhead into to stands.

~

“Mia!” Courtney called waving her up to sit next to her. She liked the younger blonde; she was talented and had humbled and matured a lot since last year. Mia knew that Courtney was a shoo-in to be her co-captain next year, and kind of looked forward to it. Besides, they’d already discovered they bunked well together after indoor season and Mia was already calling dibs on her as a roommate for the Disney trip. Originally, Courtney had tried out for the varsity cheer squad this year but had been told no which Mia had some serious mixed feelings about. On one hand, she was thrilled to have her friend in the stands with her and not being forced to split time between the two in general. On the other hand, it was really the cheerleaders’ loss.

Courtney had spent the summer as part of a DCI corps, a spot some people thought she got because her stepdad was one of the directors, but Mia knew was because she truly was that good. Pat being on staff just made it easier logistic wise to have someone so young marching with them. The summer had made Courtney better, stronger, and impossibly more flexible. And while the Star High Cheerleaders had bitchiness in spades they were seriously lacking in gymnastic ability. Which Courtney could have more than provided.

It was fine though, a couple weeks into the school year and Court was decidedly happier being in band and Mia got to keep her “Mini Me”.

“Should be a win tonight,” Courtney said once she’d reached her, adjusting the star spangled top of their football uniforms. “A friend from drum corps went here, he said they suck.”

“I’ve got some friends who go here too,” Mia said with a grin. She nodded behind her where her family and Tim and Dick had settled in. Courtney flashed a grin in response to Roy’s wave at them, her braces sparking in the setting sun. “Maybe he knows them? He meeting you at third quarter?”

Shaking her head, Courtney finally sat as the drum major motioned for them to relax for a minute. “Nah, he’s a sophomore in college. Said his siblings were planning on coming though. They’re supposed to come say hi at some point apparently.”

Mia raised an eyebrow. “You know what they look like?”

“Nope!” Courtney said with a laugh. “I met his dad like once at the family picnic but that was it.”

“Well this’ll be interesting,” Mia said wryly. The drum major called for them to stand again and Mia settled into parade rest as the home band took the field to perform, Courtney giggling quietly next to her.

~

Tim spread out his blanket on the cold metal bleachers. He was briefly worried the fleece wasn’t going to be big enough for all four of them, and then he realized Lian was six and would likely be spending most of the game on her dad’s lap and that the Harpers had brought their own blanket. They’d sat across the aisle from the guard at the top of the visitor bleachers; Roy and Lian on the end, Dick in the middle, and then Tim.

Roy was saying about how Mia had to drop the flags off and then she’d be up but she couldn’t really talk to them as the blonde in question made her way up the stairs. She flashed a brief smile at them as she passed and her and another blonde both waved back as Roy and Lian waved.

“I just got a text from Jason,” Dick leaned over to say. Tim raised an eyebrow and waited for his brother to continue. “He says one of his drum corps friends is in Star’s color guard. We’re supposed to go say hi.”

“You know who it is?” Tim asked dryly. He was starting to think that nothing Jason did could shock him anymore.

“Nope. But apparently she knows we’re coming.”

Well that tracked. Tim sighed.

“Wait,” Dick looked back down at his phone where it buzzed in his hand, “he says to ask Mia, that she’ll know her.”

“Don’t they still hate each other?” Tim was genuinely curious. He hadn’t been at that particular gala, but he’d heard multiple stories about the fight. And Babs had sent him the security camera video of it.

“I think he’s mostly just amused by the confetti anymore,” Dick said thoughtfully. “But he’s still mad about the fight.”

“That he started.”

“Yeah.”

Tim sighed. His family was a bit of a shitshow.

“Hey Roy?” Dick turned to where his friend had been chatting with his daughter. “Does Mia still hate Jason?”

Roy laughed. “Yeah, we were just talking about that earlier. She says he tried to kill her.”

Dick winced and Tim couldn’t help but say “Well...”

“Why?” Roy asked. He eyed the field where Gotham Academy’s marching band was setting up.

“Jason said a friend of his from drum corps knows her and we’re supposed to say hi,” Dick filled him in.

“Oh she’s gonna love that,” Roy snorted.

~

By the time Mia and the guard slipped out of the stands and made their way onto the track to warm up during the second quarter Star was winning. 21-0. She’d noticed Roy and the others following them, heading to find a spot on the home side to watch the show.

Mia was spinning her rifle one handed as she warmed up when Courtney stopped in front of her, arms filled with flags, saber, rifle, and plain gold pole for her solo during the second movement. The band was still warming up but Mia knew she ought to start getting ready, tossing her rifle one last time and catching the triple with a smile.

“Nice,” Court said genuinely.

“Thanks.” Mia flashed her a grin before bending to pick up her own flags and saber.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, who’re the guys that are with Roy and Lian tonight?”

“The friends I mentioned,” Mia said as she stood, balancing the pile with ease. “My friend Tim, who’s a junior here, and his older brother Dick who graduated a couple years ago. He and Roy are like best friends.”

“Aw, that’s sweet!”

“Yeah. They came to see the show and apparently Dick is taking us all for ice cream when we get home. Though that’s new information and I’m not sure how accurate it is cause I don’t think he and Tim realize I’ve gotta help unload the truck.”

“They don’t really need you, between the tuba section and the pit kids they’ll do fine for one night. Just grab the guard stuff and go. No one would fault you.”

“I don’t know...” Mia shrugged, not wanting to shirk her responsibility.

“Oh c’mon,” Courtney wheedled. “You’ve def earned one night out early. So it takes them a little longer cause they lost their Speedy, at least they’ll appreciate you tomorrow at the competition.”

“Ohmygod,” Mia laughed. “You’re the worst. But you’re not wrong.”

Courtney just grinned and then went to get in line to march on. Mia followed her, shaking her head.

~

Tim was super impressed by Star’s marching band. Their show was fun and incredibly captivating. He wasn’t a musician, but he’d come to know enough about band thanks to Jason to know when one was good. Star was _good_.

Mia grinned as she landed every toss and spun the bright flags with grace. Her rifle solo in the third song was a thing of wonder. She leapt and turned, spinning the rifle effortlessly in one hand. She ended with a toss, flinging it into the air impossibly high and watching it turn end over end, three times in total before she caught it perfectly.

Tim hooted and clapped as Mia beamed at the crowd. When the show came to a close Tim leapt to his feet to cheer, as did Steph, Cass, Dick, and Roy. Lian had been standing to cheer the whole time.

They kept yelling as the band marched off the field and Tim swore he saw Mia shaking her head at their antics.

~

After getting a hot dog and fries, Mia headed back towards the stands to chat with Tim. She found a small knot of people sitting in the mostly vacant visitor stands next to the band’s now empty section.

“Here she comes, the woman of the hour, Miss Mia Dearden!” Roy called as she made her way up the steps. The few people around them turned to glare and Mia laughed.

“You’re almost worse than Ollie,” she complained, shoving at Roy with her shoulder so she could sit down. Lian grinned and raised her hand for a high five, which Mia eagerly gave her. She was proud of her niece for remembering the no hugs in uniform rule her director had.

“You were fantastic Mia,” Dick said with that disarming earnestness he got sometimes. “Just, one quick question: do you know a Courtney Whitmore?”

She took a bite of her hot dog and gave him a weird look. “Yeah? Why?”

“Jason wants us to say hi on his behalf.”

Mia couldn’t stop herself, she scoffed. Loudly. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. “What?”

“Are you ok?” Tim asked her seriously, munching on his own fries.

“Sorry, it’s just I thought you said Jason is friends with Courtney which is impossible because he’s evil incarnate and Court is a gem.”

“Um, he texted me that they were in drum corps together?” Dick frowned. “Also, I feel morally obligated to deny the evil incarnate comment.”

“Why? Because he’s our brother? Because I’m kinda inclined to agree with that one,” Tim admitted.

Mia raised her fist and Tim reached across their brothers to tap his against it.

“See,” Mia began, gesturing vaguely with a fry, “Jason and I, we don’t get along.”

There was a smattering of sarcastic remarks at that. Frowning, Mia tried to find a sympathetic face. Cass was the closest with her smirk.

“As such, there’s no way we could possibly have mutual friends,” she finished.

Roy was making the same face he did when he had a winning hand during family poker night. “What about us then?”

“Family doesn’t count,” Mia shot back.

“Steph!” Roy said, pointing at the other blonde.

“Well,” Dick winced, “she’s essentially family.”

Mia just made a face at her brother and crossed her arms, smug.

~

Tim really wasn’t sure what to make of Mia’s... whatever that was. Courtney had shown up and they all introduced themselves and passed on Jason’s hello. She was bubbly and shared stories of the summer. Mia had sat stiffly, an odd look in her eyes.

Their break over, they walked back to sit with the band and cheer Star to their unsurprising victory. Tim had slipped his phone out of his pocket and decided that it was worth a shot as the band played the fight song and Lian copied Mia’s dance.

He asked Jason if he knew why Mia hated him and his response was swift and unhelpful. _Probably because I tried to kill her._

Welp, it wasn’t Tim’s job to make them be friends. Hell, he didn’t really care whether or not they liked each other. Just, he was curious. Tim had always been curious which was... well it was something. So yeah, he wanted to know the source of the animosity between them. He didn’t have any intention to fix it, just understand it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order to make this work I shrunk all the DCU cities and put them together to make one overlapping and sprawling metropolitan area comprised of multiple municipalities. Which may or may not be based on the area I grew up in.  
> Gotham= Small city w/ 2 large public high schools & 2 small private schools, one of which is Gotham Academy  
> Star= Small city w/ 2 large public high schools & 1 small private school  
> Metropolis= Small city w/ 1 large public high school & 2 small private school  
> Central= Middling town w/ 1 mid sized public high school  
> Keystone= Middling town w/ 1 mid sized public high school  
> Smallville= Small town w/ 1 small public high school  
> Blue Valley= Small town w/ 1 small public high school
> 
> The band stuff is all based on personal experience, though my best friend was the guard captain while I was drum major. 
> 
> I'm keeping pretty much everyone's backstories the same for this with some minor shifts as needed cause no capes. Lmk if anyone's curious/has questions cause I've thought Too Much about this whole au.


	2. Second Movement: The Ballad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which laundry is done, friends are featured, and older brothers are having a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mentions to but no discussions of Mia's canon past and Tim's less than stellar parents.

The nice thing about Bruce was the only question he asked when Tim said he wished there was a way to set up a halfpipe on the manor’s grounds was “Do you have a contractor in mind?”

Which shouldn’t have caught Tim off guard like it did, the second ballroom had long ago been converted into a home gym with a trapeze. What continued to throw him however was how completely Bruce trusted his judgement. It was new. It was nice. And resulted in a halfpipe in his backyard.

Bart sat next to him at the top, skateboard on his other side, kicking his feet.

“Thanks for picking me up this morning,” he said around a granola bar. Bart seemed able to pull endless snacks out of thin air and Tim had stopped trying to figure out how or where they came from ages ago.

“It’s not a problem,” Tim told him honestly.

“It’s just, it seems kinda dumb cause you had to drive over and get me just to drive back to your house. But Barry, Iris, and Wally all had work and Jay and Joan had that club they’re in and then Max is visiting family out of state.”

Tim blinked at Bart. “I thought you were family?”

“Other side,” Bart said quickly.

Around the same time Tim gave up trying to figure out where Bart’s food came from, he also gave up trying to figure out Bart’s large and complex family.

“I keep wanting to get my license, but Wally keeps saying I’m a menace and Max agrees with him,” Bart continued.

“You get another opinion?” Tim fiddled with the wheel of his own skateboard where it laid across his lap.

Bart gave a full body shrug. “Yeah but like I don’t know. I don’t really need it just yet? I mean, days like today are a fluke. Normally someone’s around and willing to give me a ride. I could’ve asked Linda but Wally said she’s his girlfriend, not my personal assistant or whatever. I keep trying to tell him she’s my friend too, we play Overwatch together all the time, but he won’t listen.”

“She nice then?” Tim asked mildly.

“Oh she’s awesome!” Bart exclaimed. He launched into a story about how cool Linda was and Tim couldn’t help but smile at him. “But what’s up with you?” Bart asked as he winded down.

“I’ve got a mystery I’m working on,” Tim admitted.

“Oh really?” Bart perked up again, which didn’t seem quite possible.

Tim nodded. “It’s nothing serious though.”

“But you’re like the world’s greatest detective! I’m sure it’s more fun than school anyway.”

It was, even if so far he was coming up empty. But then again, he’d pretty much rather do literally anything but sit in class all day.

“So, what is it?” Bart prompted. Tim hadn’t realized he’d sort of zoned out on his friend.

“I don’t know if you know this, but Mia and my brother Jason kinda hate each other.”

“Oh I knew that,” Bart said breezily. Tim quirked an eyebrow. “Mia and I go to that old vaudeville turned movie theater together once a month. They show a classic horror movie and I provide the snacks and she provides the tickets. It’s fun. She’s mentioned the whole thing before.”

Tim blinked. He wasn’t surprised by this information, very little actually surprised him anymore, but this was something he hadn’t known. He made a mental note about it before continuing.

“Huh. Ok. Well, I’m trying to figure out why they hate each other.”

“It’s cause he tried to kill her,” Bart said offhandedly.

Tim rolled his eyes. “They got in a fight, but no one knows what started it.”

“Have you asked them?”

“Yeah,” Tim sighed. “They won’t say.”

“Well that’s not helpful.”

“No, it’s not. Babs had video footage of it, but I don’t think she kept any audio and the only stuff I’ve seen is of the fight itself. I need audio. I think if I’m able to work out what they’re saying I can figure out what prompted it.”

Bart kept kicking his feet, but it seemed almost thoughtful now. “You’ll find it. You’re the world’s greatest detective!”

“Second,” Tim said quickly.

Bart gave him a look.

“Second greatest detective. I’m only 16, I’m sure I’ll improve and you’ve gotta aspire to something, right?” He shot a wry smile at his friend.

With a laugh, Bart stood and grabbed his skateboard. “Whatever you say, boy wonder. You think I can land a kickflip goofyfoot?”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“I’m gonna try.”

~

The ache in Mia’s shoulders come Sunday morning was something that she’d just resigned herself to. Football game and then competition meant it was dull, nothing like after the first week of band camp. Or that time Ollie had taken her to the range after practice. Band then archery? Bad combination. She made Connor give her a massage in exchange for taking out the garbage that week.

This morning though her brother was nowhere to be found. Neither were Ollie or Dinah. And the house seemed to be lacking any surprise visitors, and Mia had checked to make sure Roy or Hal or Kyle weren’t asleep on the couch in the den. It was unusual. And quiet. Mia was starting to get a little freaked out by it.

“Hello?” She called out on her second sweep. “Did I miss an alien invasion or something? Have you all been kidnapped? If the kidnappers are listening: Ollie’s the one with the money and I don’t know his account numbers!”

The hum of the fridge was the only answer.

“Huh. Ok then. Well I’m getting breakfast and dealing with this later.”

She grabbed the Count Chocula they all pretended Ollie didn’t buy and poured herself a bowl before going to grab the milk from the fridge. Mia stopped as she reached for the door handle, noticing the note for the first time.

“ _Dear Mia, went for a jog be back in a bit. If we’re not back by lunch call ~~the cops~~ ~~Bruce~~ ~~Hal~~ Roy._ Well ok then. Glad he finally landed on the right answer, took him a couple tries though. And he obviously took Dinah and Connor so I’m not really sure what he thinks is going to-”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Ah! Connor!” Mia whirled and her heart pounded. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

“The basement?”

Mia sucked in a breath and tried to calm down. “What the hell were you doing down there?”

“Laundry?”

“Did you not hear me earlier?”

“Headphones?” Connor gestured to where he had them looped around his neck.

“Ugh!” Mia grumbled in exasperation. “Stupid ninja brothers and their stupid ninja skills.”

“I’m not actually a ninja?”

She leveled a long look at him.

“Well not technically,” Connor admitted, and Mia smirked in triumph.

Spinning to go back to making her cereal Mia tugged the note off the fridge. “I take it you saw this?” She waved the paper over her shoulder towards him.

“I take it you didn’t,” Connor said back.

Mia threw him another glare.

“Ok ok,” Connor laughed, “ceasefire. A peace offering: some friends and I are going to that new candy shop thing that opened in Metropolis this afternoon, wanna come with?”

“By ‘some friends’ you mean Kyle and his friends, right?” Mia couldn’t help herself, she just had to get another dig in. He’d really scared the crap out of her.

“I have friends,” he asserted, rolling his eyes.

“Not including Kyle?”

“Yes.”

“Name one.”

“Wally.”

“He’s Roy’s friend, he doesn’t count.”

“Are they friends though? Really?” Connor challenged.

Mia thought about it. “Yes?”

“I’m not actually positive myself,” Connor said sheepishly.

“It’s a love-hate relationship?” she tried.

He shrugged and pulled out the stool next to her. Mia munched on her cereal and thought about it more, Connor had rested his chin on his hand and seemed to be trying to puzzle it out too.

“I’m going to go with yes but I’m not confident in it,” he said finally.

“Fair enough.”

“So?”

Mia blinked at him, spoon frozen halfway to her mouth. “So?”

“You want to come with? Or...?”

“Are Kyle’s friends ok with your little sister tagging along?” she teased.

The comment earned her a snort and Mia couldn’t help a little smile from slipping out.

“I think they’ll be ok with the award-winning Mia Dearden accompanying us,” he grinned.

Groaning Mia pushed at him and made Connor laugh. He grabbed at the counter to keep his balance, but she could tell he was messing with her. People always thought Connor was some kindhearted sweetie pie, which he was, but he was also a bit of a mischievous little shit. A very well-meaning little shit. She loved him.

“It’s just a dumb award the host school made up,” she tried to protest.

“It was Best Soloist. Not Best Guard Soloist, Best Soloist period. You should be proud Mia,” he insisted.

Rolling her eyes, Mia pointedly went back to her now soggy breakfast. “It’s not a big deal,” she mumbled through a mouthful. Her eyes flicked to where Oliver had put the little trophy in a place of pride on the mantel over the fireplace. Right between pictures of a gap-toothed little Roy with Hal on a fishing trip and Dinah at the ribbon cutting of her flower shop and Connor with a salad and Oliver a burger at some diner, Eddie’s thumb just visible in the lower corner and the whole mess of people who counted as family posing in dumb holiday sweaters Mia’s first year with them.

A weight settled on her shoulder and glancing out of the corner of her eye she could see Connor’s hand resting there. “I’m still proud of you, we’re all proud of you,” he told her honestly.

She shrugged him off but did it with a smile so he knew there wasn’t any ill will in the gesture. “Thanks.”

“Come with and I won’t bring it up again, deal?”

“Deal.” Mia stuck out her hand and Connor shook his head but still shook her hand.

~

By lunch Cassie and Conner had both shown up. The four of them were playing Mario Kart as Conner waxed poetic about the girl he wanted to ask to homecoming.

“I would almost rather _actually go_ to homecoming than listen to you right now,” Cassie said as she hit Tim with a blue shell.

“Wait, you’re not going to homecoming?” Bart gasped. “But that’s like, a staple of the high school experience or something.”

Tim turned to look at Bart, but the other boy was focused on the screen, tongue stuck out in concentration as he flicked his wrists in tight, controlled motions to pilot his little avatar.

When no one said anything for another few seconds Tim decided to speak up. “Hey Bart?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you mean prom,” he said kindly.

“Oh, ok.” Bart didn’t seem fazed.

“Anyway,” Cassie added, hitting Tim with another damn shell, “you don’t even go to the same school as Conner and me. What do you care?”

“I don’t,” Bart said mildly. “Just, like, thought it was the appropriate response.”

“You’ve been watching 80s movies again, haven’t you?” Conner accused.

“Actually, 10 Things I Hate About You is from the 90s. Cissie was very clear I had to say that if you tried to bring it up,” Bart countered, crossing the finish line way before anyone else. He turned to Conner with a bright grin. “Though I did catch the John Hughes marathon that was on yesterday.”

Conner gaped at him. “Dude. You really don’t see the connection?”

“Does it matter?” Bart asked, tugging the popcorn bowl closer.

“I mean, no? I guess not?” Conner wrinkled his brow as he thought about it.

Tim and Cassie shared a look, they both wanted to see how this was going to play out.

“Then it’s fine. Rainbow Road now? Please Tim? We had our obligatory warmup round. Let’s get down to business!”

Cassie picked the song up, whether Bart had meant to start it or not. “To defeat, the Huns! Did they send me daughters? When I asked, for sons!”

“I’m never gonna catch my breath, say goodbye to those who knew me, boy was I a fool in school for cutting gym!” A voice warbled from the doorway. Tim frowned when he saw who it was.

“That’s the wrong part,” Cassie complained.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Tim said at the same time.

“Why, am I interrupting drivers ed?” Jason grinned at his own crappy joke. Tim was supremely unimpressed. The glare he was sending Jason let him know.

“I thought you were supposed to be at college,” Tim tried again.

“I came home to do laundry.” His older brother looked at Tim like he was losing his mind — which with this family might just be a concern one day with the amount of concussions they all seemed to accumulate — as he came to sit down on the couch behind the four teenagers on the floor.

Turning so he could keep Jason in his sight, Tim furrowed his brows in confusion. “Since when do you do laundry here?”

“Oh, since I was twelve and Bruce decided adoption was an appropriate punishment for attempted theft,” Jason said airily.

This? This is why Tim’s friends thought he was weird. Never mind the whole mildly tragic childhood and winding up adopted by an eccentric billionaire. Or literally any of the mildly questionable things about his personality. No, it was definitely the fact he had asshole brothers who were comfortable over sharing.

With a long-suffering sigh, Tim met Jason’s gaze steadily. “You know what I meant,” he accused.

“Yeah,” Jason admitted, slouching further into the couch and breaking eye contact to glance at Tim’s friends. He could only imagine their expressions of shock, but he figured he was close from Jason’s obvious glee. His smile took on a wicked tilt when he turned back to Tim. “I’ve been home since yesterday afternoon. I come home once a month to do laundry. My school is like a half hour drive. It is literally cheaper for me to come here than do laundry there. Where have you been?”

It was a good question. Tim winced. Something tickled the back of his mind that all this was indeed true, and Tim had known it. But also, he could not for the life of him ever remember it.

“Uh...” came his witty comeback.

“Whatever,” Jason waved him off. He made a move to stand and probably get back to his laundry, or whatever else it was he got up to when Tim didn’t realize he was home.

Tim’s friends were still suspiciously silent. Almost frozen on the carpet. The bright music of the game menu still looped but it was ignored in favor of the appearance of something much more interesting.

“Is it true?” Bart suddenly burst out, just as Jason was getting to his feet.

“Is what true?” he asked slowly.

Bart stuttered, stumbling now that Jason’s attention was on him. The attention of the rumored and famed, or infamous depending on who you talked to, Jason Todd.

Never mind the fact that he’d had a growth spurt the summer before he left for college and was still awkwardly settling into his height and broad shoulders. Or that he regularly quoted very particular lines of Shakespeare at their older brother because his name was Dick. Or the fact that Tim himself had told his friends the story of the time Jason had believed Babs when she said Beyoncé was at the gala with them and he’d spun around so fast to look for her he’d tripped over his own feet and landed squarely on the dessert table, causing both he and it to come crashing down.

None of that mattered because Tim’s older brothers were living legends at his school, both having been valedictorians with Dick having taken both the gymnastics team and the mathletes to winning states. While Jason had been drum major of the marching band for their best season in history and practically swept the local high school theater awards for his performance of Jean Valjean during his senior year.

Combine all this with the fact that they’d been adopted by the local eccentric billionaire and it made them super minor local celebrities. Like, well below the local weatherman minor.

The rumors, that Jason absolutely encouraged, about how he was supposedly an ex drug mule for the Mexican cartel and that he beat up the entirety of one of the local college’s football teams for harassing a waitress and totally trashed a Kardashian’s yacht one summer made him into a bit of a myth that managed to span beyond Gotham Academy to Central High where Bart went and Cassie and Conner at Metropolis. 

Gulping, Bart finally managed to recover. He looked at Jason steadily, but they could all hear the rapid-fire taps of his fingers on the Wii remote. “Is it true that you ate a duck whole once?”

Jason burst out laughing and Tim’s friends relaxed. “Everything but the bill and the feet. You really think I’m Heath Ledger or something?”

“The way people talk about you, you might as well be,” Cassie arched an eyebrow in challenge.

With a final snort Jason headed towards the door. Casually, he threw a “Been compared to worse,” back at them before disappearing back into the manor and whatever it was he’d been doing all weekend. Laundry apparently.

~

Kyle had come to pick them up, because despite being a sophomore in college Connor still didn’t know how to drive. He insisted it didn’t matter because their house was close enough to campus, he just rode his bike. Mia always countered that if he learned to drive, he’d show up to class looking like a drowned rat less often. This tended to make Oliver chime in about how Connor was being environmentally friendly and he was proud of him for it. Mia would then say that it was major corporations and the one percent contributing the most to global warming. At this Ollie’s brain would misfire temporarily, his desire to rail against the one percent at war with his desire to insist that wasn’t an excuse to not be more environmentally conscious. It was a thing of beauty. Dinah would then step in and break it up but not before Ollie had gotten ready to launch into a long and animated lecture, forcing him to just deflate and go back to his dinner.

Since Kyle had met Connor during freshman orientation and decided they were destined to be best friends the other boy had been game to give Connor rides whenever. Occasionally this extended to Mia as well which was nice because between her schedule and the DMV’s they were having trouble actually finding time for her to take her test for her license.

As Mia slid into the backseat of the green VW Golf she once again couldn’t decide if she thought Kyle’s car was cool and vaguely vintage or kinda sad. Normally she based her decision on the amount of McDonald’s wrappers balled up on the floor behind the driver’s seat. Today it was leaning towards cool.

“Hey there, Genovia. Long time no see,” Kyle said as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

“It’s band season,” Mia replied. She buckled her seatbelt as Kyle pulled back into traffic.

“Isn’t it always band season?” He asked.

“There’s a bit of a break between outdoor and indoor and then another between indoor and outdoor,” she corrected.

“So yes,” Kyle said.

Mia shrugged. “If you do a drum corps too then yes. I don’t do drum corps.”

“Right,” he said slowly. She could see him glancing at Connor for help, but Mia’s brother was watching the houses blur past as Kyle headed for the highway that cut through the area, connecting the three cities of Gotham, Metropolis, and Star. “Um, pretend I’m stupid-”

“That won’t be hard,” Connor said quickly, a sarcastic lilt to the comment.

Kyle ignored the well-worn teasing, continuing as though Connor hadn’t even spoken. “-and that I have no idea what drum corps is. Explain?”

She smiled, Mia genuinely liked Kyle and he always tried to include her whenever he was around. She hadn’t known what to expect when she suddenly found herself with two older brothers, their friends not hating her or ignoring her like in the movies and instead taking a genuine interest in her and her hobbies was not it. Neither was the wild and sprawling network of people and their younger siblings who had immediately accepted her and folded her into their own friend group.

“Ok,” Mia began to explain, “so Kyle you know what a marching band is.”

“Yes,” he laughed. “I’m from California, not outer space.”

“Just checking,” she teased. “So, it’s like marching band but on steroids and without the woodwinds.”

“They have something against saxophones?” Kyle shot her a grin.

“Who doesn’t have something against saxophones,” Mia said seriously.

Kyle blanched and Connor burst out laughing. They pulled onto the highway and Mia let Kyle sit on that until he merged.

“Right, so like some high school kids and a bunch of college kids try out and then pay to be a part of a corps and during the summer they compete and it’s kinda like professional band. They travel all over competing against each other and just doing marching band 24/7.”

“Sounds intense,” Kyle said. His car whined a bit as he hit seventy on the mostly empty highway.

“It is,” Mia admitted. “There’s also DCI which is like the major leagues and DCA which is like the minors. So, the intensity kinda varies depending on if you’re in a DCI or DCA corps. And naturally from corps to corps.”

“So, do we like drum corps or do we not like drum corps?” Kyle asked. Mia had a feeling Connor was rolling his eyes.

“Decidedly neutral,” Mia told him honestly. “The shows are so cool and just amazing to watch and my friend did it this summer and it really helped her grow as person but it’s A Lot and can be vaguely culty and people in it can lean towards being assholes.”

“Are you saying that because Jason does it?” Connor asked, turning slightly so he could read her expression.

Mia scoffed. “No actually. Drum corps people tend to have a chip on their shoulder because they think being in a corps makes them superior to everyone else. Some of the best marchers and musicians I know are woodwinds but they’d never even be eligible and yet there’s a dickwad in the baritone section that can’t even back march properly who made a shitty DCA corps this summer and now he thinks he’s God's gift to the Star High marching band.” She took a breath, having ranted a bit more passionately than she’d realized. Mia hadn’t expected to start taking after Ollie when he adopted her either and yet apparently here they were.

“Jason is…?” Kyle prompted, obviously hoping it would settle Mia down some. Which was cute of him to think. Then again, it’s not like he knew any better.

“The guy who tried to kill me once,” Mia said brightly.

For the second time that car ride, Kyle looked at her in the rearview mirror in shock. “Is she being serious?” he asked Connor lowly.

She’d told Kyle about her life before Ollie when he spent spring break with them a couple months before. Mia trusted him. Also, she was kind of accident prone, it was partially for his own safety when she’d sliced her finger chopping onions and he’d come running to help that she had told him. Kyle never treated her any differently afterward and she kinda adored him for it. It also meant that if she was feeling like breaking out some particularly dark humor when he was around, he wouldn’t say anything. Though occasionally he wasn’t always sure when she was joking.

“They got into a fight at a gala for Dad’s youth shelter once. There was an… incident involving a confetti canon and she came out of the whole thing with a split lip but there was no actual attempted murder,” Connor clarified.

“What the fuck?” Kyle whispered.

“I know right? Who starts a fight at a charity gala?” Mia shook her head dramatically. “Also, what is everyone’s obsession with Jason Todd? I’ve talked about him more in the past weekend than I have in literal months.”

Kyle had turned off the highway and was heading towards downtown Metropolis by this point. “Hold on, I think I know a Jason Todd,” he said, slowing for an upcoming red light.

“You have _got_ to be shitting me.” Mia refused to believe it.

“No, Genovia, seriously. My friend Jennie is a photography major and she’s friends with this girl Donna who works at one of the local studios and is best friends with this guy Dick who has a younger brother named Jason. I’ve hung out with him before. And I’m like positive that Dick and Jason are part of the Waynes.” Kyle said all of this as he began circling the block looking for a parking space.

Blinking, Mia just stared at him in openmouthed shock.

“Um, Mia?” Connor tried cautiously. “I think Kyle knows Jason.”

“What the fuck is my life?” Mia groaned dramatically, flopping to lay across the backseat as Kyle pulled into a spot.

~

Cassie’s mom had given Bart a ride home after dinner and Conner had tried to plead with Mrs. Kent to let him sleep over before she ultimately reminded him that both he and Tim had school the next morning, resulting in him hopping in his truck and heading home too.

Tim was left texting Duke about the debate meeting the next day in the glow of his laptop. He’d joined debate mainly because he was arguing with his brothers most of the time anyway and found he had a knack for the more structured form of the competition. Plus, the people were great, and Tim loved the new freshmen. He and Duke in particular had positively hit it off. He kept joking that if Duke ever met Bruce he was going to be getting adopted, to which Duke would just give him a mildly horrified look. Tim was starting to think he needed to stop telling people about his family unless they already knew them.

“Hey,” a voice said from Tim’s bedroom door. Jason stood there, hand resting against the frame as he peered in.

“What’re you doing here?”

“I thought we went over this,” Jason joked, a smirk tugging at his mouth as Tim rolled his eyes. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, rumpling the streak he’d bleached and then dyed bright pink. “My morning class was cancelled so I figured I might as well spend the night.”

“Oh,” Tim said. “Makes sense.”

“So, how’s school?” Jason asked.

Tim just stared back at him for a few seconds. “Have you decided you like me again?”

Back when Tim was just the neighbor kid, he and Jason got on pretty great. They weren’t best friends or anything, but Tim had been welcome at the manor anytime and Jason was normally good for a game of tag or watching a movie. When Tim was younger and left on his own in an empty house for swaths of time this was huge. All of his other friends were at school, Dick and Jason were the only kids he ever saw outside of it.

When Bruce started getting suspicious about his parents’ seeming lack of interest in Tim and taken to keeping an eye on the boy himself Jason had started becoming immersed in his activities. Tim was always around and Jason never was. Then his parents had died and Bruce with his expensive lawyers had gotten custody of Tim. Something between them had changed and Jason was almost bitter and jealous of Tim. He threw himself further into his hobbies and distanced himself from his new little brother. It had hurt and Tim had reacted badly. They’d fought, loudly and messily. An antique vase had been lost and the curtains in the parlor had to have been replaced. The real casualty though was their relationship.

Since, they had been civil but distant. Tim supported Jason with the rest of the family at the different band and drama performances and Jason slipped old Agatha Christie novels into Tim’s room. They weren’t close but they were still family. Tim had defended Jason against a few of the meaner rumors involving his mom and he knew that Jason had stood up for him before too, the occasional black eye and knowing look from Cass told him as much.

Jason had yet to answer, instead focusing on the pattern of the antique rug that had come with the room.

“Jay?” Tim prompted.

Heaving a sigh that Tim thought was frankly overkill, Jason half collapsed against the doorframe. “Look, I was talking to a friend the other night and may have come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t take any of my ill feelings towards Bruce out on you.”

“Were you drunk? Are you drunk now?”

That earned Tim a dark look and suddenly he felt like he was back in charted territory again. “I was trying to have a moment here.”

“Well you were making me fear you were having a stroke.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“This is my room. You’re in my room. You came to me. Ergo, you cannot tell me to fuck off.”

“Ohmygod,” Jason’s mouth had fallen open and his face was flickering rapidly between expressions. “Did you- did you just say ‘ergo’?”

“Yes, and?” Tim challenged.

“What the fuck, Timber?”

“No,” Tim said lowly. “Do not call me that.”

“Fine, Timmers?”

“That’s not any better.”

“Steph calls you that.”

Tim closed his eyes and finally understood where Bruce’s habit of pinching the bridge of his nose came from when he became overcome by the sudden desire to do the same. “Steph also publicly made out with me once because some asshole was yelling slurs and she was afraid he was going to try and beat me up. Steph can call me whatever she damn well pleases.”

“Oh,” Jason said softly.

“Yeah,” Tim sighed.

“I’m sorry.” There was a certain weight behind Jason’s words. A sense that the apology was for more than just the names.

There were a few options open to Tim with that. He studied Jason where he stood just on the other side of the threshold, not wanting to intrude on Tim’s space. His face was earnest and there was an unguarded honesty in his eyes Tim hadn’t seen in years.

Taking a deep breath, Tim nodded. “Accepted. Clean slate?” It was an offering. And a test.

“Clean slate,” Jason agreed. His mouth twitched up into a smile that was little more than a quirk of his lips.

“You, uh, wanna come in? I know the zombie rumors aren’t true but you’re starting to make me think the vampire ones are.”

Tim made Jason laugh at that. He pulled an armchair over to the bed as Tim flicked a light on, the sun having dipped too low behind the trees to be an excuse for the dark.

“So, school?” Jason tried again.

“Ugh. I hate it,” Tim told him, not thinking about his words before speaking around Jason for the first time in years.

“But you’re a smart kid, and Alfred said you’re doing fine.”

The compliment was a bit weird, but Tim rolled with it. “Yeah but it’s so damn boring. I just cannot bring myself to care about the War of 1812 or whatever.”

“Ok, that tracks,” Jason laughed. “Mysteries still hold your interest?”

“This feels like the opening to a bad Scooby-Doo remake,” Tim teased.

Jason looked at him with wide eyes. “Fuck, you’re right.”

“I may or may not have been about to watch Murder on the Orient Express again when you showed up,” Tim told him, letting a sheepish grin sneak out. “We could go watch it on like an actual tv if you want?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun.” Jason stood and Tim grabbed his laptop, following him towards the den. “Hey, someone told me you did the whole Nancy Drew thing, that true?”

Tim wouldn’t have put it that way. “Kinda. It’s more like independent research than tracking down lost watches or stumbling on nefarious plots.”

“I heard you caught the one gym teacher having an affair with the art teacher while his wife thought he had joined a bowling league.” Jason raised his eyebrows, asking for the validity of the rumor.

“I did kind of do that…”

Jason gasped before laughing. He stopped at the bottom of the steps to give Tim an impressed look.

“In my defense I didn’t set out to do that. She just saw my ad and asked if I could look into some suspected fraudulent charges on her credit card statement,” Tim added quickly.

“You on a case now, Hardy Boy?” Jason was obviously teasing him, but he still looked impressed.

“Uh, kinda?” Tim didn’t know what Jason would think if he admitted he’d been trying to figure out what had happened between him and Mia. This truce or whatever between them was bound to be tested sooner or later and it’s not like they’d be seeing each other again for another month come morning. Bracing himself he turned to his brother. “Actually…”

~

The place Kyle and Connor were meeting their friends at was like something straight out of Willy Wonka. For one, it was huge and part candy shop, part ice cream parlor. For another, everything was covered in bright colors and glitter and neon. Mia had no idea where to look as they walked around.

She’d ditched the boys and discovered a literal wall of bubblegum. “Somebody pinch me,” she muttered as she stared up at it. Mia had filled a basket with one of every flavor and, not for the first time, was glad for Ollie giving her one of his credit cards.

By the time she finally found her brother and Kyle they were sitting at a table eating ice cream with two young women. One with glossy black hair that fell in waves down her shoulders that Kyle was trying to flirt with, and Mia could even tell from here he was failing miserably. She mainly wanted to ask her what shampoo she used. The other had her hair cut to just above her shoulders and dyed a stunning emerald green. Mia found herself with more hair envy as the woman and Connor exchanged amused glances about Kyle’s failed attempts.

“What’d you get?” Connor asked, catching sight of Mia making her way towards them with her bag.

“What do you think?” She challenged, quirking her eyebrows and jutting her chin out in a move she’d since Dinah do a million times.

Connor answered without missing a beat. “Bubblegum.”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Your prize is buying me ice cream,” Mia said. The table laughed at that and Kyle kicked out the spare chair for her to sit.

“This is my little sister, Mia,” Connor said as she sat and he stood. “Mia, this is Jennie and Donna. What do you want?”

“Chocolate, brownie, whatever.” Mia shrugged, trusting his judgement as Connor nodded and went to get in line.

“Roy talks about you all the time. If he’s not talking about Lian he’s saying about how you do color guard and how good you are,” the dark-haired woman – Donna – said with a warm smile.

“Donna, as in Troy?” Mia pointed to her.

“Guilty as charged,” Donna laughed. “Small world, huh?”

“Smaller every day,” Mia sighed.


	3. Third Movement: The Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are discussions of rights, 90s cars, siblings, and wild rides in both the literal and figurative sense.

“I’m real proud of you for standing up for what you believe in and defending yourself,” Ollie was saying as they finally walked down the front steps of the school. They’d had to track down her band director before they left to explain to him that she’d gotten suspended for the rest of the day and wouldn’t be allowed to come to practice. That had been awkward. “I’ve gotta say though, gum is a weird hill to die on, kid.”

Mia blew a riotously pink bubble, letting it expand to obscure her vision slightly until it popped, and she pulled the gum back into her mouth to keep chewing and try again. She’d had a love of bubblegum since she was a little kid and it was so well known that one of Roy’s friends had actually brought a bunch of different kinds back from a trip to Japan last year specifically for Mia, she couldn’t understand why Oliver was surprised by this.

“It wasn’t so much the whole ‘no gum’ rule,” she tried to explain as they crossed the parking lot where the band practiced, coming to rest on the 45 yard line as she tugged the passenger door of Ollie’s Prius open. “It was the fact that they’re more concerned with enforcing an arbitrary rule designed wholly to assert control over us than they are with teaching proper sex ed.”

Oliver paused in his motion to start the car, his brows furrowing in concern and she could just see him starting to ask what exactly she meant by that and if someone had said or done something to her and Mia loved him but she could not deal with that right now.

“Besides!” She continued brightly. “They searched my locker while I was in class and confiscated all of my bubblegum like, that’s absurd and way overstepping.”

Mia watched him out of the corner of her eye and could see when Oliver decided to shelve that conversation until she was ready for it and shift to the one she’d offered up. He started the car and turned to exit the lot.

“Yeah, I’m a bit peeved about that. Though I can’t help but think your principal was onto something about the whole premeditated thing. Your whole locker was nothing but gum?” He shot her a sly smile.

“What?” Mia shrugged. “It’s not my fault if your proclivity for protesting and Connor’s pacifism are starting to rub off on me.”

“That is the most passive aggressive protest tactic I’ve ever heard,” Ollie laughed, heading in the opposite direction as their house. Mia gave him a confused look. “Which is why I’m not going to punish you for this,” he said by way of explanation which still left Mia lost.

“Um, ok?”

“What’s open at nine o’clock on a Tuesday? You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

She couldn’t help herself, Mia burst out laughing. “Are you trying to treat me to lunch right now?”

“Yes?”

“Ollie, wait until it’s actually lunch!” She wheezed. He hmphed and turned but still not in the direction they lived. “Where are we going now?” she giggled.

“Connor should be getting out of class soon; thought we could go surprise him.”

“Ohmygod.” Mia was well and truly cackling now. “You’re ridiculous. Then what? We go and visit Roy?”

“Do you want to? We could,” Ollie offered, totally serious.

“No! You _dork_!”

“Wanna go see Dinah? I’m sure she’d love to hear about all this.”

“She’s _working_!”

“She owns her own business, it’s not like she’ll get in trouble with her boss.”

“Oliver!” Mia was losing it, gasping as she tried to get control of herself again.

“What?” he asked innocently, glancing over at her.

“Are you proud dadding my suspension right now?” she asked with a grin.

“Absolutely,” he answered quickly.

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re absurd.”

“Love you too, kid,” Ollie told her as he smiled.

With a sigh, Mia watched the row houses turn into squat single-family bungalows as they neared campus. She was still smiling and wasn’t quite sure she wanted to stop. Whatever it was the school thought this was going to accomplish it sure as hell backfired.

“Can we take Connor and Kyle to lunch with us?” she asked after a few minutes.

“Kid, we can do whatever you want. Think of today like it’s a national holiday just for you, except with the banks and post offices open,” he said with a proud grin.

Mia snorted. “Thanks.”

~

The second bell hadn’t even rung and yet Tim was late. He’d been in the library and for once had actually been working on a paper during lunch. The hallways were empty already. His phone buzzed in his pocket, meaning Tam was probably texting him asking where he was. He considered the skateboard strapped to his backpack and the security cameras. If he was going to get in trouble he might as well go out in a blaze of glory.

Stripping off his backpack and flinging his skateboard onto the ground, Tim hopped on and took off towards his physics class. He was at the door before long and managed to just make it on time, scrambling into his seat next to Tam as the bell rang.

She shot him a look that very clearly said “I swear to god, Tim Drake, if you skateboarded here…”

Tim shot her an innocent smile. She didn’t buy it. Tim didn’t blame her.

He’d just pulled his books out when the door opened again, the vice principal standing there and obviously looking for someone. Tim ducked his head and hoped his luck would hold out.

No dice.

“Mr. Drake-Wayne? Come with me and bring your belongings.”

Tam shot him a dark look and Tim could only grimace. He threw his books back into his bag, picked it and his skateboard up, and headed towards the door. He mouthed a sincere “Sorry” to Tam over his shoulder and she sighed, long resigned to the chaos that came with the Wayne family.

The vice principal eyed the skateboard but didn’t say anything as he led Tim down the hall towards the main office. In the empty halls the only sound came from their footsteps and the soft buzzing of Tim’s phone as it blew up. Likely with people already commenting on his imminent punishment.

They reached the office and Tim was surprised to see Cass sitting there. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she looked back at him in question. _Phone?_ she signed. Tim shook his head; he hadn’t even pulled it out of his pocket in like two periods.

Cass rolled her eyes, making a face to let him know she thought he was a total idiot. Tim was getting that reaction a lot today.

“Your brother is apparently coming to pick you up; he should be here soon. I’m sorry for your loss,” the vice principal said before turning to go into his office, leaving Tim to gape at Cass in front of the school secretary.

With a sigh, Cass patted the worn chair next to her for Tim to sit. He did so and she patted his cheek condescendingly. “Phone.”

Tim dug his phone out of his pocket and blinked at the overwhelming number of notifications. “Uh…”

Leaning over his shoulder, Cass scrolled through until she landed on the “Siblings + Babs & Steph” group text. She tapped the latest message and looked at Tim expectantly when it asked for his passcode. He taped the eight-digit code in – and Cass rolled her eyes at the fact he was paranoid enough to have an eight-digit code – as the app opened and the messages loaded.

It started with Jason:

_Jaybird: yo my afternoon class is cancelled anyone wanna sneak into amusement mile with me_

_Jaybird: none of my friends are free so im stuck asking you people_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Some of us are in school, what’re we expected to do with this info?_

_Babs the Badass: Some of us have work._

_Dickwad: I’m actually off today and I’ve got some built up chaotic energy. I’ll grab the kids & meet you there. _

_Cass (_ _◡_ _‿_ _◡_ _✿_ _): ???_

_Demon: Grayson please explain how you expect to retrieve us from school._

_Jaybird: fake a death in the family, obvi_

_Jaybird: i’m already at the hole in the fence on the southside btw so hurry up_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: To quote Cass, ???_

_Babs the Badass: I cannot believe I’m asking this, but who exactly are you intending to say died?_

_Jaybird: idk does it matter?_

_Babs the Badass: Yes. For you dumbasses it very much does._

_Jaybird: just say it was me_

_Dickwad: Ok calling the school now._

_Demon: Do not call my school, I do not wish to be party to this._

_Jaybird: your loss_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Um…_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Uh…_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Hm…_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Not sure how to say this…_

_Demon: Just speak already Brown!_

_Jaybird: spit it out steph_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: How are you getting me out of class???_

_Dickwad: …_

_Jaybird: …_

_Dickwad: ………_

_Jaybird: ………………_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Guys???_

_Dickwad: Sorry?_

_Jaybird: you’re gonna have to take one for the team here_

_Steph (_ _ง_ _'̀-'́)_ _ง_ _: Oh come ON!_

_Jaybird: it’s not like you’re missing much_

_Babs the Badass: There is so much dubious legality going on here and I hate that you’ve all made me privy to it._

_Dickwad: <3 _

_Jaybird: <3_

_Cass_ _(_ _◡_ _‿_ _◡_ _✿_ _): <3_

_Babs the Badass: I also hate that you all do your hearts like that._

Tim turned to his sister. “What?”

Cass smiled. “Fun.”

Before Tim could formulate a proper response, Dick came bustling through the office doors. The secretary looked up at the noise and smiled when she saw Dick. With his artfully windswept hair and easy smile it was almost impossible not to smile at Dick Grayson. She held up a clipboard once he’d crossed the space to her desk and Dick took it with a flourish. “I’m so sorry to hear about your brother.”

“Thank you,” Dick said with sincerity. “It’s hard to imagine, it feels like he’s still here and I’m just picking these two up to go see him.”

Tim wanted to groan. And then had to fight the urge to laugh. Cass’s eyes sparked and he noticed her chewing on her lip.

“C’mon, we need to go. Now.” Dick raised his eyebrows and as quickly as he appeared, he was walking away. Tim scrambled to follow him. “You have everything you need?” he asked. Tim thought it was a little late considering the fact that they were already at the door, but they were kind of in a hurry. Apparently.

“Yes,” Cass said, shifting the bag that Tim hadn’t noticed she had higher onto her shoulder.

“Um, sure,” Tim said when Dick turned to him. They headed towards where Dick’s car was only semi-legally parked in front of the school. “Question?” Tim asked as he climbed into the backseat.

“Answer,” Dick said in well-worn response.

“What happens when they find out that Jason’s not actually dead? Or if they tell someone that he died and it gets back to Bruce or like to the media?”

“Then we take a little from my trust fund and a little from Jason’s and we donate a new computer lab,” Dick replied, tearing out of the lot at an alarming speed.

“You’ve gotten way too comfortable with being rich,” Tim accused.

Dick scoffed. “Rude. And untrue. I just know how the system works and so do you. Especially at Gotham Academy. Go on, tell me I’m wrong. That it wouldn’t work.”

Tim frowned; the thing was Dick was right.

“Besides,” Dick had softened some, even if he was still speeding, “Bruce would pull me out of school all the time. I’ve had hitherto unheard-of relatives die like eight times already. I think Bruce had about five and Alfred three.”

There was no appropriate response to that information. Cass’s seemed like the best though as she threw her head back and laughed.

~

They managed to find Connor sitting on a bench in the courtyard, his class having just let out. He looked utterly shocked to see Oliver and Mia approaching him and honestly, she couldn’t blame him. After a brief explanation, during which Kyle seemed to appear through pure coincidence or what Mia suspected was a text, they managed to talk Ollie out of a grand lunch and into brunch at the Jewish deli a block from campus. It also helped that Connor brought up the fact he had an eleven o’clock class so if they wanted to eat with him, they might want to do so soon.

While they ate, the boys asked Mia what her big plans for the rest of her involuntary day off were. Which made Oliver just look at her expectantly and well Mia had felt like a deer in the headlights at that. Honestly, she thought she’d get a detention, maybe in school suspension, for the whole thing. She did not think she’d be sent home and she really didn’t expect Ollie to let her take it easy. Ok, based on what she’d been plotting and like everything about Oliver she probably should’ve guessed he’d react like that. Still didn’t mean she had a plan beyond the vague sense to watch Netflix and text her friends who were still stuck in class.

Luckily, Kyle spoke up. “You could come to class with me? I’ve just got studio art after this and my prof would definitely give you an easel and let you participate.”

“I don’t have class this afternoon. I was going to help Jennie with one of her photography assignments and I’m sure she’d love another model,” Connor added.

Mia weighed their words, the prospect of feeling like she was being babysat versus what actually sounded kind of fun.

“Well you’re the one who looks like a model in the family,” Mia couldn’t help but tease, making a blush color Connor’s dark cheeks. “But sure, why not.”

Oliver faked being hurt that she’d rather spend time with them than him. Mia also knew he definitely had things he should be doing at the youth shelter anyway and he’d feel guilty about it if he didn’t get back soon. If she had asked him to, Ollie would’ve spent the whole day with her and she knew that too.

So, Mia joined Kyle’s art class and enjoyed herself while only managing to paint a very poor looking mango that really was just an orangish circle. She knew Kyle was an art major, but she normally just saw his doodles in the margins of Connor’s notes from the philosophy class they took together. They were cute but undeniably doodles. The work he’d done in class on the still life the students were all supposed to be painting just blew her away.

“I was kinda beginning to think you were lying about the whole artist thing,” she told him as he cleaned up.

Kyle laughed. “I’m not that great a painter – Jack over there is way better, undeniably the best in the class – but my sketches are good. Here,” he led her to a wall of overlarge cubbies at the back of the studio. Kyle pulled a board out with a large piece of paper taped to it. An intricate and bright space station was taking shape on it. “These are colored pencils, it’s a project for another class.”

“Wow,” Mia breathed. “And here I thought you just drew chibis.”

He laughed and slipped the board and his drawing back into the cubby. “Only during philosophy. You’ve seen those?”

“Connor studies by rewriting his notes, they’re on the coffee table like all the time,” Mia informed him dryly.

Kyle just snorted and led her out of the studio and towards where they were supposed to be meeting her brother and Jennie on the campus green. The space was flat and open with the sun shining down and making Mia glad she ditched her jacket in Ollie’s car. She couldn’t help herself, tilting forward into an easy cartwheel. The world spun and her feet hit grass. Upright again Mia was met with the green-haired girl from the other day.

“You do more than just cartwheel?” she asked, a large camera clutched in her hands with the strap looped over her neck.

Mia grinned. “You bet I do.”

Jennie smiled back and raised her camera. “This is going to turn out great.”

Kyle went to his next class and Mia showed off most of her gymnastics, nothing compared to Courtney or Tim, but his brother was an acrobat and taught him stuff so that didn’t count. Mia’s friends were just obnoxiously talented and she’d gotten used to it. Connor worked through a couple of his martial arts katas while Jennie snapped pictures.

Mia was sitting on the grass, brushing her fingers through the blades and starting to get hungry when she tilted her head back to see Kyle running towards them at full speed, his backpack bouncing wildly and other people stopping abruptly to get out of his way.

“We need to go. Right now,” he huffed out when he reached them. Mia remained lounging on the green as Jennie and Connor blinked at their friend.

“Why?” they all asked in unison.

Kyle gestured vaguely as he caught his breath. Connor raised an eyebrow and exchanged shrugs with Jennie. Mia watched on in amusement.

“Donna called me,” Kyle started only to be interrupted by Jennie.

“Oh, really now?”

He made a face before he continued. “Apparently some friends of hers found a way to sneak into Amusement Mile and they’re letting other people in with them but we’ve gotta get there like now.”

Connor’s expression twisted into confusion. “Did you even go to class?”

“No,” Kyle admitted. “Now c’mon. That place costs like an obscene amount of money and I want to ride a rollercoaster. Donna texted them to wait up but they’re not gonna wait long.”

A flurry of emotion passed across her brother’s face before settling on a tired expression that Mia recognized as resignation. She pushed herself to her feet, ponytail slapping her back at the abrupt movement. Grabbing Connor’s arm, Mia turned to Kyle with a crazy grin.

“Where’s your car?” she asked.

Kyle met her question with a manic smile of his own. They all turned to Jennie, still holding her camera. She looked between them before resolutely shaking her head. “I have significantly better ways to spend my Tuesday. Have fun. Don’t get arrested.”

~

There was a Walmart with a half-deserted parking lot on one side of the four-lane highway that ran past what Tim would consider the back of Amusement Mile. It wasn’t the nicest amusement park, with its Boardwalk theme falling into slow disrepair and only a handful of real thrill rides which made the already exorbitant ticket price all the more outrageous. Unfortunately, it was the only theme park in under a two-hour radius. This parking lot is where Dick pulled in and parked next to what Tim recognized as Jason’s old Volvo.

Storing their backpacks in the trunk, Tim exchanged his uniform jacket and button down for one of Dick’s t-shirts that lived back there. Cuffing his khakis and grateful for the warm midafternoon. Cass had tied her button down into crop top and rolled up the sleeves. She’d slipped back into the car to trade her skirt and leggings for a pair of Dick’s basketball shorts.

“I didn’t think to grab you guys a change of clothes,” Dick said apologetically when Cass climbed back out.

Tim shrugged and turned to start walking towards the road. “We don’t look that out of place. Besides, it’s going to be pretty empty and the employees are too underpaid to care.”

Dick snorted but didn’t argue as Cass hummed in agreement. That was the crux of the reason they didn’t just pay for tickets, which they very well could, because practically real life supervillain Lex Luthor had bought the place a few years back and had hiked up admission prices, cut wages, and done the bare minimum to maintain health and safety regulations. No way were they giving their money to that sleazebag. They’d just tip whatever employees they saw in hundreds and hope that this month Luthor finally caved to Bruce’s overpriced offer to buy the place.

After double checking that the road was still empty, the trio lazily made their way across towards the hedges that obscured a chain link fence and more hedges. Cass slipped into the barely noticeable gap in the branches first, disappearing into the scratchy wall of green. Tim followed her and found Jason wedged between the fence and plants, holding open a slit in the metal that Cass was already angling herself through.

Tim could feel Dick at his back. He mumbled a greeting and a thanks as he shuffled towards Jason and then through the hole in the fence after Cass. Tim squeezed himself into the space next to her on the other side, waiting on their older brothers.

“You guys go on, I’ll catch up with you,” Jason was saying as Dick crawled after Tim.

Out of the corner of his eye Tim could see Cass’s quizzical look.

“While you guys were on your way Donna texted me that she had friends who wanted to come so I said I’d wait on them,” Jason explained.

“Who?” Dick asked eagerly.

“Well Kyle Rayner texted asking where he should meet me so…” Jason trailed off smarmily.

Dick snorted and Tim knew it meant there was something he wasn’t privy to. Cass huffed at the boys and began making her way down to where there was a gap in the hedges on this side. Tim quirked an eyebrow, hoping one of his older brothers would elaborate. Apparently not.

“Well have fun,” Dick told Jason drolly before shoving lightly at Tim to get him moving. One last glance over his shoulder saw Jason giving a sarcastic salute and then a wink when he caught Tim’s eye before turning and heading back towards the road to wait for this Kyle guy.

After their truce the other night, Tim and Jason had actually been getting along. He’d even found out the source of the animosity between Jason and Mia. Their tentative relationship the past few days wasn't the same as when they were younger, but it was nice and Tim had decided he could get used to it. The middle child solidarity was something that he’d never expected but was starting to revel in already.

Cass was peering out of the gap in the branches before determining the coast clear and darting out. Tim followed her quickly and Dick after him. They quickly hopped from the weed filled mulch onto the sidewalk and began brushing any stray plant matter off. Cass pulled a small twig from Tim’s hair and he returned the favor by pulling another from her collar. No one would have suspected they’d just ditched school and snuck into the park. Especially not with Dick next to them looking for all the world a charming, caring older brother. Which he was, but he was also half the chaotic mastermind of the day’s activities.

“Rollercoaster,” Cass said pointedly, grabbing Dick’s arm and dragging him towards the nearest one.

A half second later Tim followed them. Calling out, “I, uh, didn’t have lunch. Can we get a hot dog or something then?” as he did.

~

Mia was practically bouncing with excitement in the backseat of Kyle’s car as he pulled into the Walmart parking lot. At the far end near the road sat two cars completely on their own. The older white Volvo was dirty and nowhere near as out of place as the brand-new BMW next to it. As Kyle pulled in on the Beamer’s other side Mia finally noticed the figure leaning against the Volvo’s hood, sunglasses pushed to the top of his head as he squinted at his phone.

“No,” she said quickly, eyes locked on the boy. “No way.”

“Mia-” Connor started as Kyle spoke over him.

“He’s our ticket in. Then we can go do whatever.”

She wasn’t having it, turning to glare at her brother and his best friend. “Nuh-uh. Nope. I’d rather actually _pay_ for a ticket.”

“Mia-” Connor tried again.

“No!” she continued, leaning forward between the seats. “He’s an ass! I’m not going to take his help!” Kyle was biting his lip to try and hide a smile at her outrage and Connor was rolling his eyes. Mia huffed and flopped back. “Though I’m not surprised he knows how to break into a place,” she mumbled darkly.

“Mia!” Connor turned to look at her in shock and disappointment as Kyle howled in laughter.

“Oh c’mon, Genovia’s got a point there, Con.”

“I thought you said you only kinda knew the guy?” Connor raised an eyebrow as Kyle finally turned off the engine and moved to unbuckle his seatbelt.

“Yeah, well, let’s just say we made an impression on each other.”

The face Connor made at that was one Mia knew well, his trademarked “Why me?”

“Look,” Mia said as her brother unbuckled his seatbelt and Kyle made a motion to open his door, “you two go and have fun, I’ll stay here with Kyle’s old McDonald’s wrappers and go into Walmart when I’ve gotta pee and just avoid Jason Todd like the plague he is.”

It was a universal truth that Mia should have taken into account, she had the worst luck. Meaning Kyle had opened his door before she’d finished speaking and Jason had wandered over to the parked VW sometime during her earlier protests. So, he heard everything. Something his razorblade smile made obvious as he leaned onto Kyle’s door and peered into the car at her.

“Wow. Didn’t know you thought so highly of me,” Jason said with enough faux cheer to make even a seasoned retail worker gag. He’d flicked his sunglasses down at some point so she couldn’t see his eyes, but Mia knew that smile didn’t reach them.

“I think higher of single-cell organisms,” Mia spat back.

Jason huffed a dark chuckle, standing to throw his head back but never letting go of his grip on Kyle’s door. That smile was edging into smirk territory as he leaned down and into the car again, practically putting his face in Kyle’s to look back at Mia.

“Maybe you should’ve stayed in school today, might’ve learned some better insults,” he said brightly.

Jaw clenched, Mia inhaled and prepared for a tirade of Ollie proportions. Except, Connor caught her eye and the disappointment in his gaze was enough for her to deflate.

Although, Kyle hadn’t noticed and was pushing Jason back as he stood. “Why don’t you pick on someone who’s not a literal child,” he was saying as he puffed his chest out.

Connor did an honest to god facepalm. Mia was tempted to do the same.

Jason had backed up so that he was only a hairsbreadth away from the BMW as Kyle tried to get in his face. From the back-window Mia had a clear view of Jason’s face as he gave Kyle a cocky knife of a smile.

“Mia is more than capable of taking care of herself, Rayner. And I’ve got a ruined Armani suit to prove it,” Jason said smoothly.

Kyle’s shoulders tensed and Connor muttered something dark that sounded suspiciously like a curse. Then he was moving, door flinging open and launching himself easily over the hood of the Golf. Pushing the driver’s side door shut, Connor wedged himself between the other boys. Mia couldn’t stop her jaw from falling open. Her brother was a _badass_.

“How about we all just, take a breath?” Connor’s voice was muffled but he had the same expression Dinah got when breaking up a fight over dinner, so Mia’s understanding was clear.

No one relaxed, but Kyle moved so that he was standing just behind the back tire. Mia finally unbuckled and slid across the seat to press her nose to the window. Her sneakers crunched slightly on the abandoned burger wrappers and her fingers scrambled blindly for the release that would push the driver’s seat forward so she could grab the door handle and clamber out. Mia needed to be in the middle of this action.

She managed to grab it and with a soft “oof” tipped forward with the seat. Mia lost sight of the standoff in exchange for getting a hold of the door handle and cracking it open. Connor, saint that he was, noticed and pulled it the rest of the way so she could crawl out and insert herself between the boys.

“Why don’t we just go buy tickets?” Connor was saying as Mia hiked up her jeans and straightened her t-shirt from where they’d ridden up and down during her impromptu car yoga.

“No,” everyone else said firmly and there was a moment of pause as Mia, Jason, and Kyle all blinked at each other for that.

“No one’s giving Lex Luthor any more money,” Jason said at the same time as Kyle insisted, “I don’t need to be in even more debt to Oliver Queen.”

Again, there was an awkward silence as everyone processed that. By some weird telepathic agreement, no one commented and instead they turned their attention to Mia.

Crossing her arms, Mia cocked her hip and raised her eyebrows. She tried her best to project cool, confident, and intensely haughty as she sniffed. “I’m already suspended for the day, might as well keep up the image.”

That had Kyle laughing and Connor smiling as he shook his head. Jason’s lips even twitched in the direction of genuine. Mia felt smug as Jason let out a huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

“Fine, if we’re doing this then c’mon,” he said, pushing past Kyle and heading towards the road.

Kyle jerked his head, indicating that Mia and Connor should follow Jason, as he pulled his keys out to lock his car. Not that anyone would want to steal the green Golf, and it’s not like they’d left anything valuable in it, but it was the thought that counted Mia figured.

“So you’re still a brat?” Jason asked casually as she fell into step next to him.

“So you’re still a dick,” Mia observed in response.

He turned to her with that insufferable smirk before stepping onto the road and throwing back an easy, “Actually, that’s my brother.”

~

Tim marveled at the fact that Dick had easily over three thousand dollars in cash on him but hadn’t thought to get changes of clothes for him and Cass. Older brothers, their priorities were just whack. The woman behind the counter had been shocked when Dick handed her two hundreds and said to keep the change after buying them all some overpriced lunch.

They’d settled at the least sticky of the picnic tables and Tim went to work trying to open his ketchup packet as Cass poked at her rubbery mac and cheese. She wrinkled her nose and swiftly grabbed Tim’s hot dog, placing her mac and cheese directly in the path of the ketchup packet.

“Hey!” he protested as she took a bite.

Dick looked up from where he’d been inspecting his hamburger. Cass smiled sweetly before opening her mouth to show the half chewed hot dog.

“Ugh! Keep it!” Tim cried as Dick yelled a disgusted, “Cass!”

Without dropping the hot dog, she signed _war_ and smirked.

Tim scoffed. “This is not a part of _sibling warfare_. Besides, I thought you were Switzerland.”

“What? What’re you talking about?” Dick looked between them in confusion. This is what he got for moving out of the Manor.

Cass swallowed. “You and Jason. Teamed up.” She gave him the most fake pout he’d ever seen, and Tim knew that was a learned trait from Steph. “Not fair. I’m… hurt.”

He gave her an incredulous look, spluttering in shock. “We didn’t- What’re you- Cass!”

His sister smirked and continued to eat his hot dog.

“Dick!” Tim tried to get backup. If Cass wanted war, then war she’d get.

Dick looked up from his phone and Tim knew instantly that Dick had missed everything that happened after he’d last spoken. Cass knew too, judging by the smug look she shot Tim.

“Hmm?” Dick asked, looking between the two.

“Never mind,” Tim sighed, turning to the accidentally ketchup covered mac and cheese that he was now stuck with.

“Sorry,” Dick was saying, “Jason wanted to know where we were.”

“That took longer than I was expecting,” Tim said. He cautiously speared a noodle with Cass’s abandoned plastic fork.

“Kyle goes to college over in Star, probably hit some traffic or something on the way here,” Dick shrugged.

While Jason had been waiting in the Walmart parking lot, they’d managed to ride the rollercoaster that Cass had demanded twice. Practically walking right on both times. Then wandered around until they found a food stand and ordered. If it had been July or a weekend that might’ve meant a few hours but today it amounted to just short of a half hour.

During this time they’d gone deeper into the park and fairly far from the hole in the fence they used to get in. Tim figured this gave him plenty of time to eat the – frankly kind of gross – mac and cheese Cass had saddled him with. Gathering his courage, he closed his eyes and began shoveling it into his mouth. The mac was too chewy and the cheese was too gooey and all Tim tasted was too much ketchup. He tried not to gag as he swallowed and yanked the cup of Zesti to his mouth. Not even bothering with a straw he flicked off the lid and set about gulping it down.

Once the taste of the cola washed away the overpowering taste of ketchup Tim came up for air. He gasped and set the half empty cup onto the table. When he looked up Dick was staring at him in concern.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Tim said, grabbing one of the napkins.

“Cause that was…” Dick grimaced.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

“That’s ok,” Tim shrugged.

“You’re sure you’re ok?”

“Yup,” Tim said and then immediately was turned into a liar.

He made a strangled noise as he caught sight of Jason walking towards them from over Dick’s shoulder. With Mia Dearden at his side.

“Tim?” Dick sounded mildly panicked. Not ‘the world’s about to end’ or ‘someone’s actively dying’ panicked but definitely ‘what the fuck’ panicked.

Cass frowned at him before standing to peer over Dick’s head. All Tim could see was the back of her head, wisps of short black hair being picked up by the breeze, but he knew when she spotted Jason and when she grinned at him by the way her head tilted just so. They really were close, even if she was actively a menace towards him sometimes.

Dick wasn’t ever slow on the uptake, his attention had just been more focused on Tim’s wellbeing than anything else, but he must have figured Tim was fine or maybe that the source of his sudden weirdness would have the answers for a cure because he finally turned around.

He froze and Tim knew that meant Dick was having the same thought process that Tim had a few seconds earlier. It was brief though and soon he was relaxed and if Tim hadn’t known Dick so well he’d never had noticed.

“Hey guys!” Dick called, lifting a hand in a lazy wave.

Jason gave them another sarcastic little two-finger salute from the corner of his sunglasses before stuffing his hand back into his jeans pocket. Mia grinned and waved both hands at them excitedly while behind her Connor smiled and the guy next to him – Kyle, basic deduction told Tim – gave them a Cool Guy Nod.

“What’re you doing here?” Tim asked when Mia was climbing onto the bench next to him.

“Got suspended for the day,” she answered brightly, pointing towards the large fries in the middle of the table questioningly.

“For _what_?” Tim turned to Mia as she grabbed a fry after Cass nodded her approval of sharing them.

It wasn’t like Mia to even get so much as a detention, unlike Tim who was currently petering on the edge of more serious punishment thanks to his accumulated tardies. She was deeply dedicated to her marching band and Tim knew that things like detention would keep her from being able to go to practice.

“I’ve actually been wondering that myself,” Jason said from where he’d sat next to Cass.

Mia flashed him a smile that was more of a barring of teeth than anything. “For exercising my first amendment rights.”

“History’s shown that schools and the first amendment don’t always mesh,” Jason shot back quickly.

“Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” Mia replied shortly. Punctuating it with another bite of a French fry.

Jason had a slow smile growing that Tim recognized as trouble. “You know _Tinker_ , no wonder they sent you home.”

Narrowing her eyes, Mia stared Jason down. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Jason was going to respond, Tim could see Jason winding up another remark, when Dick interrupted. He was definitely trying to defuse the situation.

“Alright then! Well it was great to see you all! I’m glad you guys could come, but maybe it’ll be better if we split up? I’m sure you had plans and we wouldn’t want to intrude on them.” Dick flashed a smile at Connor that almost seemed to say “back me up here?”

“Rollercoaster,” Cass said again, getting to her feet and starring at the table demandingly. People might complain that Tim was a caffeine addict, but they should really have been more concerned with how much of an adrenaline junkie Cass was.

“Oh, I’m down!” Kyle said happily. He turned to Connor with a wide smile. “You in?”

Connor sighed and turned to Tim, making him blink in surprise. “You’re coming with us and I’m sitting next to you.”

Tim laughed, he’d actually told Connor the story of how he’d fallen asleep on a roller coaster once at some gala or other they'd both been forced to attend. Connor had been saying ever since that was going to make Tim ride a rollercoaster one day to see if it was even remotely true. Apparently today was the day.

“Ok,” Tim rolled his eyes as he laughed.

“I wanna go do the bumper cars,” Mia told them.

“You know what,” Jason said almost slowly, “I actually do too.” He smiled and Tim knew that expression was nothing short of mean. He frowned at Jason but his brother either didn’t notice or didn’t care. When Tim looked to Mia his blood almost ran cold to see her mirroring Jason’s expression.

All eyes turned now to Dick.

“We don’t need a babysitter,” Jason said coolly.

“Course you don’t,” Dick responded evenly.

The resulting staring contest was, while not wholly unusual, still terrifying. And Tim was used to this sort of thing.

“You know,” Mia finally said, a hint of annoyance in her voice, “ramming into each other at under a mile an hour in cars that are designed for that sort of thing might actually be good for us. And is significantly safer than the alternative.”

No one could argue with that.

Dick sighed, indicating he’d caved and would be going with them to the next rollercoaster in the park. Before he could even inhale again Jason and Mia had already headed off in the opposite direction. Tim winced. 

~

Mia eyed Jason sidelong from her position leaning against the rail. A happy couple in their late twenties were the only other people in line with them and a trio of college kids were currently wreaking havoc in the bumper cars. Mia was honestly surprised to see even this many people at Amusement Mile on a Tuesday afternoon in late September.

“You know,” Jason drawled and Mia refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten her attention, continuing to watch the sparking ceiling and bright lights, “I’m not actually mad about the whole confetti thing.”

She wasn’t expecting that.

“I mean,” he continued unprompted, “how were you supposed to know it was in there? It was just a storage closet. And there was no way you knew it would’ve been still hooked up and would go off even if you had. The confetti was one hundred percent not your fault.”

Mia turned slowly and raised a single eyebrow. Jason’s face was unreadable, impassive, his sunglasses still resolutely covering his eyes despite the shade. If she hadn’t heard him Mia never would’ve guessed he’d even spoken at all.

Jason crossed his arms and leaned back against the railing behind him, looking for all the world calm, cool, and collected. “I mean, honestly? It’s kinda funny.”

Well that was news. Mia tried hard not to let it show on her face though.

“A confetti canon? I mean, it’s ridiculous and the odds are just insane. But like B finally found me pounding on the door and screaming and just _covered_ in confetti.”

Her mouth was a traitor as it twitched towards a grin at the mental image of Jason, a couple inches shorter and just this side of scrawny dressed in a suit that cost more than Connor’s tuition and just coated in multicolor confetti. Flecks of paper clinging to the suit, stuck in his hair, settling in his collar. The utter shock in his eyes as he wandered into the hall and out of the darkness of the closet.

“The noise and the force was fucking awful though,” Jason continued, offhandedly. “Like, my ears were still ringing by the time we got home, and Alfred insisted on taking me to the doc right away.”

A pang of guilt settled in Mia’s stomach at that. She hadn’t thought about the hazards of being in a small enclosed room when a confetti canon went off before. Now that she did, she was honestly kind of grateful that Jason hadn’t been hurt.

“All in all though?” Jason pushed himself off from the railing as the whirring and crackling of the cars began to quiet. “Still hilarious.”

“I didn’t actually mean for you to get hurt,” Mia admitted as they waited for the bumper cars to come to a full and complete stop.

The college kids were trying to talk the attendant into not making them get out and run around to get back in line. Jason let out a short bark of a laugh. Mia spun to glare at him. She thought they were actually getting along but apparently not. She was right, he was an asshole and that hadn’t changed.

“You punched me!”

Mia whirled on Jason. “Yeah, and yet I’m the one who walked away with a split lip! Besides, you deserved it and started this whole damn thing!”

Jason seemed to sober under Mia’s glare.

“I know,” he said softly. She barely heard it over the clacking of the turnstile as the couple in front of them went through.

“What?”

She watched as Jason pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head and then scrubbed his hand down his face. Jason sighed before meeting her eyes. “I know.”

“You two coming?” the attendant asked, and Mia turned with a jolt.

“We’ll, uh, grab the next one,” she said quickly, turning back to Jason.

For a couple seconds they just stood there, silently staring at each other as the bumper cars buzzed and thudded in the background.

“Look,” Jason seemed to deflate, “I was an asshole-”

“Uh, yeah. Still are.” Mia couldn’t stop herself.

Jason chuckled and it actually seemed _real_. “Yeah, I am. But what I said to you was wrong.” He winced. Mia narrowed her eyes. Jason closed his as though it pained him to say whatever it was he was planning on saying next. “This doesn’t excuse my behavior but hopefully it explains it. When we first met, I was just… angry. All the time. And I was always looking for a fight. _Picking_ a fight. And I don’t know, something about you seemed like a good idea of how to get into one.”

It was an explanation, something Mia had secretly wanted for ages now, but it seemed too easy. Too convenient. She studied him and was surprised to see that Jason actually looked almost apologetic.

“Still doesn’t excuse what you said,” Mia finally replied.

“No, it doesn’t,” Jason admitted, and his head fell so he was staring at his beat-up sneakers and she was left looking at the chunk of dyed pink hair he had. “It probably won’t help,” Jason said to his shoes before meeting her eye again, “but I really _am_ sorry that I said that to you. It was awful of me and I regretted it immediately.”

“Because I threw soda in your face?” she challenged.

“Because it was wrong,” he insisted.

Something didn’t add up and Mia knew it. She felt her forehead wrinkle into a frown as she crossed her arms and leant back against the rail. A mirror of Jason’s earlier position. She studied him and it clicked.

“If you knew it was so wrong then why are you just now apologizing?” she asked.

It was strange, watching Jason’s face twist in discomfort and guilt. Mia suddenly had the sense that this was the first time she’d ever seen Jason show emotion. No, be _honest_ with what emotion he showed. It threw her. This whole conversation had Mia off balance. Like she’d missed a step off and now was out of synch with the music during a show.

“This is going to sound like an excuse,” Jason half muttered, breaking eye contact again. He fidgeted. Mia was uncomfortable with this whole conversation too but there was something almost powerful knowing that it was her, her opinion, that was making Jason squirm. He huffed another breath, gathering up his courage, maybe, imagining she was someone – anyone – else, more likely. “It was so much easier to just pretend like it was your fault. Like you throwing the first punch and locking me in that closet was a bigger deal than me saying those things and starting the fight in the first place. That the hate and anger was mutual.”

Mia pursed her lips. It was a lot to process. And the bumper cars sounded like they were starting to wind down again. She saw her shot and Mia was going to take it.

“I need to think about it,” she told him honestly. “All,” Mia gestured vaguely between them, “this.” As though that explained anything.

“Uh, yeah, no that makes sense. I get it.” Jason nodded quickly. He looked baffled for a second, but just a second before it settled into something like understanding.

Edging towards the turnstile Mia held Jason’s gaze, like backing away from a wild animal some part of her brain supplied.

“A round of bumper cars might help,” she offered. “Might be enough time. Certainly get out any pent up aggression.”

Jason was nodding now. He seemed more sure of himself too. “Course, yeah, I get that.”

A push through the turnstile and Mia was heading towards a free car near the side. The attendant was letting the others go again and they were all still bunched towards the middle while the spare cars lined the one side. Mia hopped into the one she claimed and prepped to hit the gas. Jason sat in the one next to her and he seemed to busy himself with the seatbelt and the peddle and the wheel and anything that wasn’t looking at Mia.

The lights twinkled and the ride’s music roared as electricity raced to each car. Mia set peddle to metal and wrenched the wheel. If she was right, the arc she was making would taking her on a direct collision course with the jerk. Luckily, the other drivers didn’t pay her any attention and with a teeth-rattling jolt Mia was right. The bright lights flashed and Mia swore Jason laughed as they both shook from the impact. She wrenched the wheel again and made her escape.

It was entirely possible that Jason was being genuine. Mia had this weird gut feeling that Jason was being genuine. But that didn’t discount the hurt that had hardened to anger. His remorse didn’t magically make everything better and it certainly didn’t fix the way she felt.

With an “oof” Mia rocked forward, having been hit from behind and forcing her foot to slip. She came to an abrupt stop before being struck again, this time from the side. Mia glared. Couldn’t these people see she was processing something?

Mia spent the rest of the ride ramming her car into as many people as she could. Jerking and shaking and trying to hold on to the wheel with every impact. Laughing and snarling and feeling her heart pound in time with the loud classic rock and the colored lights. She and Jason spotted each other at the same time and Mia slammed her foot down. Jason must have done the same. They went careening as fast as the little cars could at each other. They hit head on. They were both lurching from the crash as the ride turned off; music gone, lights dimming, the buzz of the cars fading.

Once her car finally settled, Mia undid the lap belt and pulled herself out. She walked on shaky legs towards the exit, giggling a bit manically under her breath. Mia weaved her way down the ramp and made a beeline for the bench she spotted on the other side of the path. She sat down heavily, tilting her head back to squint at the sky.

The bench shifted and Mia knew that Jason had settled himself next to her. Moments passed with them sitting there, silent in the nearly empty amusement park.

“I accept,” Mia finally said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jason turn to look at her. He seemed surprised. Or at the very least caught off guard. “Your apology,” she clarified. “I accept your apology.”

“Oh.” Yeah, Jason was surprised.

Mia looked at him, she had to for this part she told herself. “But I don’t forgive you.”

Jason’s face went blank.

Suddenly, Mia felt very young and very foolish for saying that. But it was true. She just had to power through it a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Dinah said. Another that sounded a whole lot like Ollie reminded her that you didn’t have to forgive someone even if they did apologize. And a voice that Mia knew was Roy’s told her she was strong and brave in that pity free, factual way he had.

“What you said really hurt,” Mia told him. Her mental Connor was giving her a sheepish thumbs up for finally admitting it out loud. “And I’m still mad about it. You were wrong to say that and you were wrong to use me as an outlet for your own issues.”

“I know.” Jason sounded earnest.

“But I’m glad you finally recognized it and that you’re trying to make amends. So, thank you for the apology but I don’t forgive you.”

“That’s fair,” Jason said, looking at his hands where they twisted in his lap.

“I’m not done.” Mia arched an eyebrow; a little bit of her spunk was back now that the hard part was over. “I’m willing to call a truce.”

Jason’s head shot up and he blinked at her. Yeah, that was definitely surprise this time.

“We’re not friends,” she said quickly. “Though maybe I don’t have to run around telling people how much I hate you and we can quit claiming you tried to kill me.”

That earned her a soft chuckle. “Ok, deal.” Jason held out his hand and Mia angled herself so that they could shake. At the last second though he pulled his hand back and Mia stared in confusion. “And you admit Gotham Academy’s band is better than Star’s.”

Mia scoffed. “Absolutely not!”

“Worth a shot,” Jason smirked, offering his hand again. Mia eyed him briefly before they finally shook, both offering a sly smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll leave what exactly angry and angsty teenage Jason said to Mia to pick a fight up to you. Otherwise only Jason, Mia, and Tim will ever know. 
> 
> I'm not exactly sure what this fic is anymore but I hope you enjoyed it?


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